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This video is a line-by-line walkthrough guide for William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Act 5, Scene 6-7-8.
I provide a close reading of the entire scene, including: — Detailed explication — Commentary — Literary analysis
All commentary is supplemented by in-text, line-by-line study notes designed to help students: — Prepare for GCSE, A-Level, IB, and AP evaluation — Prepare for general high school and college quizzes, exams, and essays — Generate ideas for analysis essays — Participate knowledgeably in class discussions Click here to download the annotated text of Macbeth: https://sites.google.com/view/shakespeare-walkthrough/home
Video 25 discusses:
PLOT Scene 6: — Malcolm, Siward and MacDuff + armies arrive at Macbeth’s castle PLOT Scene 7: — Macbeth encounters and kills Young Siward; exits — MacDuff enters, looking for Macbeth and revenge — Malcolm and Siward enter — Siward announces that most of Macbeth’s troops have abandoned him, so his defeat is assured PLOT Scene 8: — Macbeth encounters MacDuff; Macbeth is afraid because of the witches’ prophecy (beware MacDuff) and guilty/ashamed because Macbeth murdered his family — Macbeth confidently boasts that MacDuff cannot harm “one of woman born” — MacDuff replies that he was born by caesarean section, “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb — Macbeth says he will not fight Macduff — MacDuff calls Macbeth a coward — Macbeth and MacDuff fight, exit — Malcolm, Ross, Siward, arrive and mutedly celebrate victory while lamenting their losses — They extoll the virtues of Young Siward’s noble sacrifice — MacDuff enters with Macbeth’s head — Malcolm is pronounced king — Malcolm thanks his supporters and announces restoration of order (Great Chain of Being)
CHARACTER: — Macbeth: reduced to animal; dehumanization; desperately clinging to prophesy — Macbeth: genuine remorse for death of MacDuff’s family; also cowardice, remembering the “beware MacDuff” prophecy — Macbeth: Hubris summons Nemesis; MacDuff is final Nemesis — Macbeth: return to pure physical courage; ends as he began, minus the love, honor, he had earned at the beginning — Young Siward: brave; potential worthy hero — MacDuff: man of action; foil; immediately gives kingship to Malcolm = true man: selflessness, dutiful, honourable, purposeful, meaningful actor — Malcolm: first thought after victory is pity for the lost; worthy hero restores order (Great Chain of Being), cures the wasteland
THEME: — Manhood definition: MacDuff + Malcolm = ideal man; brute force put to good use + thoughtful compassion for the common good — Hubris summons Nemesis — Equivocation: prophecies all comes true; Macbeth understood meaning A, witches intended meaning B — Manhood; insecure men ea
